One Little Word
by Aksannyi
Summary: Tag to Canary. Strange how words affect people, isn't it? Strange how even a single word can mean so many things. Tony said something to Ziva that made her head spin, in a good way. Later, she's alone with her thoughts. This would be a tale of TIVA, light in nature, and definitely fits in with canon.


**Disclaimer: **_Not mine, but I like poking around their heads sometimes. _

**Stuff: **_So this is a tag to Canary. Mostly because I heard Tony say one little word and my heart did a little cartwheel, so if I was feeling that way, I can only just imagine what Ziva's little heart was doing. _

_Mild spoilers for Canary, though you need not have watched that to understand this, you'll be disappointed that I spoiled a small ship moment for you. Just go watch it though_.

**Also: **_For the sake of this story, assume they both have autocorrect and it's way better than the typical autocorrect that changes normal words into cuss words when you're texting your grandmother. And that it fixes grammar, too. Because I just can't stand to type in text speak with crappy grammar, even if they're sending texts back and forth to each other. _

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**One Little Word**

_Sexy._

The word rang through her head while she was brushing her hair after a long hot bath, a custom she'd developed to unwind after a long case had finished.

_Sexy._

Even now, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she could feel the faint blush creeping up on her cheeks, the glimmer in her eye and the hint of a smile accompanying it. She was acting like a lovesick twelve-year old, she thought inwardly, yet couldn't - and wouldn't - let that stop her from feeling like her heart was doing jubilant backflips.

"It is just a simple word," she chastised her reflection, willing herself to stop being so ridiculously … _giddy. _And even as she told herself that, she knew that it was far from simple, just like everything else between the two of them.

Ziva knew she looked good when she got ready for the operation - she'd spent a good portion of her prep time making sure that every thing looked just right. She tried to tell herself that it was because she wanted the character to be believable, but she knew deep down that she wanted _him _to notice.

The blush returned to her cheeks. He _had _noticed. Couldn't even stop himself from commenting. Right in front of Gibbs, no less. She was currently unsure of two things about that particular moment in time: the first - how she had managed to keep herself from jumping him right then and _there, _and the second - how Tony had managed to make such a comment without getting smacked sometime into next Tuesday by Gibbs.

_Sexy. _

God. It sent a shiver right up her spine. Made her tingle with goosebumps from head to toe. She pulled on the tank top and short's she'd set out for herself and headed to the bedroom. It had been a long day and she needed to sleep, though she was sure that a certain someone's voice would be ringing in her head all night, keeping her from doing so.

She didn't know why it was sticking with her so much. He's probably already forgotten he said it, she told herself.

_Sexy. _

Even knowing that tomorrow the word would be forgotten - at least, to him, she still couldn't help but smile as it rang through her ears again, and she supposed she'd never forget the way she felt when she heard it the first time and realized, _"Hey, I'm sexy. I'm the one he is saying that to. He meant that for _me."

Ziva pulled back the covers of her bed and climbed inside the bed, ensuring that her alarm was set on her phone before she did so. As if on cue, her phone buzzed a text message into her hand.

"Tony," she said, shaking her head with a smile. Only he would text her at half past midnight.

"_Still up?" _was the message. She started to type a response, then changed her mind and erased it. She sat and thought for a moment about what to write, and started tapping the phone screen again in response.

"_Was just getting in bed, why?" _she responded. She put the phone down and grabbed the book from her bedside table as if to fool herself into believing she wasn't just eagerly awaiting his response. It didn't take long.

"_Oh, okay. I just" _She smiled at his text goof - typical Tony. At least once a day, he accidentally hit "send" with his thumb before the message was finished.

"_Oops. Thanks for pretend saving my life." _

She cocked her head to the side and stared at her phone for a minute, unsure how to respond. "What?" she said out loud, and decided that would be an appropriate enough response to send back. His reply came not a minute later.

"_I knew that would confuse you. You have that look on your face, don't you?" _She was unable to respond before another text came in. _"Anyway, I just wanted to say good night."_

"_Okay … good night, Tony," _she responded, still unsure if he had another reason for texting her tonight.

"_Good night, sexy," _he responded, and her jaw dropped in shock. Did he just? She looked at her screen again and saw that yes, he had just sent that, and her shocked expression quickly became a grin. She then clicked the message and did something she would never, _ever, _admit to doing in a million years - she clicked the "lock" icon on the phone so the message would never be accidentally erased.

And then she called him.

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_**I think that'll do it, what happens next? I don't know. Use your imagination! **_

_Your feedback, comments, and love would all be very greatly appreciated. _


End file.
